2002 Ferrari Maranello 575m on 2040-cars

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2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale

I wasted my last hour with the 2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale pacing the polished concrete floor of Home Depot. My quest was to find an industrial-strength adhesive that would permanently bond me to the bright-red Italian's carbon-fiber racing seat. At that moment, I was determined to spend the rest of my life with this Ferrari - glued behind its F1-inspired steering wheel - selfishly dismissing trivial matters like eating, bathing and all future interaction with my wife and kids.
After reviewing literally hundreds of exceptional vehicles, many considered the finest enthusiast offerings each automaker has to offer, I had finally found my mechanical soulmate - the limited-production 458 Speciale. I somehow became convinced that cementing myself within its spartan cabin would ensure that our love affair would never end. My plan was ingenious, assuming the hardware store still had a large bottle of Gorilla Glue on the shelf.
Simply put, there is no better way to start a weekend than with a gassed-up Rosso Corsa Ferrari 458 Speciale parked in your driveway and instructions to "Enjoy!"

Ferrari's 986-hp mid-engine hybrid supercar stays bundled up in spy shots

With less than a week to go until its debut for VIP clients, Ferrari remains engaged in testing its hybrid V8 supercar. As these spy shots show, the Italian carmaker still insists on giving nothing away. The photographer wasn't able to figure out any more details, noting only that the camo panels were decorated with yellow triangles warning of electric shocks. The last intel we got came from Auto, Motor und Sport, the German magazine predicting 1,000 PS (metric horsepower), which is 986 of our ponies. That grunt would come from the 3.9-liter twin-turbo V8 borrowed from the F8 Tributo, and three electric motors — two on the front axles, one in the gearbox. All-wheel drive and instant torque would get the coupe from zero to 62 miles per hour in no more than 2 seconds, and cornering prowess will increase thanks to e-motor torque vectoring. Another stroll through the FerrariChat forum says power might be more than the 1,000 CV (cheveaux — metric horsepower again, but in French) indicated even on Ferrari's invitation to the launch event. A member wrote, "The current numbers doing the rounds are 1,050 — 1,100," bettors guessing 720 hp from the V8, roughly 200 combined horses from the front axle motors, and anywhere from 150 to 180 hp from the gearbox unit. That would be 1,080 hp at most, which is 1,095 CV. The looks are inscrutable. It's clear the door handles are in a different place, above the shoulder line, the front brakes calipers are mighty, and the headlights reveal some severe lines. The motorcycle rider who chased the coupe through the hills above Maranello said he saw squared taillights, but allowed that it could have been the shape of the camouflage openings. A Ferrari owners group from France visited the factory and apparently saw the complete bodywork for the hybrid coupe codenamed F173, describing the car as "wide and flat" with "huge rounded intakes" like half circles, a red body and a black glasshouse. On a side note, they also saw the 812 Spider bodywork, and said it's beautiful. Finally, another FC poster wrote that "the name has been already decided and there are very few chances that it will be changed. It will remind us of a Ferrari model launched years ago and also an actual car, a fast one." Depending on when Ferrari plans a public debut, we have anywhere from six days to three weeks left to play with this puzzle.

Weekly Recap: FCA hit with record fine as NHTSA crackdown continues

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration slapped Fiat Chrysler Automobiles with a record fine this week that could reach $105 million. The punishment comes after NHTSA found problems with the automaker's execution of 23 recalls that affect more than 11 million vehicles. The consent agreement, announced Sunday, calls for FCA to pay a $70-million cash fine and requires the company to spend at least $20 million over a three-year period on industry outreach programs and to beef up old recall campaigns. Failure to comply will result in another $15-million fine. FCA also agreed to federal oversight, which includes an independent monitor to oversee the company's recalls. The $70-million cash fine equals a penalty NHTSA levied on Honda in January. "Fiat Chrysler's pattern of poor performance put millions of its customers and the driving public at risk," NHTSA administrator Mark Rosekind said in a statement. "This action will provide relief to owners of defective vehicles, will help improve recall performance throughout the auto industry, and gives Fiat Chrysler the opportunity to embrace a proactive safety culture." FCA called the deal a "consensual resolution," but admitted that it "failed to timely provide an effective remedy" during certain recalls. "We are intent on rebuilding our relationship with NHTSA and we embrace the role of public safety advocate," the company said in a statement. The announcement kicked off a busy week for the automaker. NHTSA agreed FCA did not need to recall 4.7 million vehicles after an investigation failed to find defects with a power module used in some Jeep, Dodge, and Ram vehicles. A Georgia judge also reduced a civil verdict involving a death in a Jeep Grand Cherokee crash. Amid all of that, the company reported net profit of about 333 million euros, or $364 million in the second quarter on Thursday. OTHER NEWS & NOTES FCA ramps up Hellcat production Despite a decidedly legal and financial week for FCA, there was still time for the performance side of the business to briefly grab the spotlight. The automaker is more than doubling its production of the Dodge Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcats in response to strong demand. The order bank opens the second week of August and production begins in September. FCA will finish up its scheduled 2015 model-year Hellcat builds, and cancel any "unscheduled" versions, though customers will get discounted pricing for 2016.